Rejecting the stiff formality of the 50’s fashion, she created soft, body conscious clothes from fine fabrics and called them “luxury prêt-à-porter”. unique for their time, they were beautifully made clothes available off the rack.
In 1956, gaby aghion and her business partner, jacques lenoir, debuted the first collection over breakfast at café de flore, which, as the city’s infamous meeting ground for existentialists and artists, was one of their own favorite haunts.

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“chloé” – a name they chose for its warm, feminine appeal – was perfectly in synch with the new mood of paris : youthful and modern in design, and slightly audacious in spirit.

in the 60’s, chloé hothoused a group of youthful left bank designers who later defined the paris ready-to-wear movement, “le style”.

in 1966, karl lagerfeld became the house’s head designer, and under his direction chloe became one of the most iconic fashion brands of the 1970’s. jackie kennedy and brigitte bardot, maria callas and grace kelly all came to chloe’s boutique in the 7eme in search of luxurious daywear. with its romantic, gauzy blouses and long skirts, chloé defined the look of a generation.

in the 80’s, a series of talented designers including martine sitbon kept the collections fresh and ever-changing, whilst reiterating chloé’s quixotic ability to be both cutting-edge and timeless at once.

after the house was bought by the luxury goods conglomerate richemont group in 1985, its notoriety grew around the globe.

in 1997, stella mccartney reinvented chloé once more, with a romantic yet streetwise mix of vintage lingerie, tailoring, and signature low-rider trousers that hit a nerve with young women around the world and propelled the house to a new level of success.

from 2001 to 2005, the creative director, phoebe philo, has continued the chloé legacy of luxurious, audacious prêt-à-porter whilst stamping the house with her own unique signature : sexy daywear, fluid lines, graceful and distinctly modern diaphanous tops.

on october 11, 2006 a new chief designer has been appointed, paulo melim andersson : he becomes part of the chloé design legacy.

today, just like grace kelly and maria callas did before them, young stars like kirsten dunst, natalie portman and lou doillon have fallen in love with the soft elegance of the french house.

(PARIS) The fashion community waited with bated breath this season over what would become of Chloé without Phoebe Philo. Technically, it was Philo’s second season away from the reigns—the designer took last fall off as well, choosing instead to sit front-row—though she had not yet resigned from the company. Enormous changes at the last minute were all in a day’s work for Gaby Aghion, the Egyptian-born Parisian who founded the house of Chloé in 1952. Moments before the first look hit the runway, The Daily caught up with the petite fashion legend, who sold the company in 1985.

How did you come up with the name Chloé?
A friend of mine had that name, and I thought it was pretty. I could not put my name on the label because at that time you couldn’t do that. Mythologically, Chloé was a goddess—a wicked woman. But I’m not wicked; I have been strong.

What’s your most memorable Chloé moment?I don’t have one really. Perhaps only that it was a very important adventure. There was only couture back when we started and we were among the first to create ready to wear, elegant ready to wear. Now everybody wants to be successful. To be a success you must work a lot; people don’t understand that.

What was your take on Phoebe Philo?
I thought Phoebe was very nice. I don’t know why she didn’t stay. I told her to be careful because you don’t make a career in one or two years. I took a lot of years to be Chloé.

Are you happy with how Chloé turned out?
I think [Ralph] Toledano is running the business in a nice way, because for a few years there, it was not so good.

Do you ever think about going back to Chloé?
When I sold Chloé, I sold Chloé. I touch nothing else. The adventure of fashion continues to interest me—but only as a spectator.